Light the Match is a two-day workshop for theological and pedagogical formation for parish evangelists. These two days will include breakout sessions for new evangelists, youth evangelists, adult evangelists, and pastoral associates. A light breakfast and lunch served each day. Optional dinner and overnight accommodations available.
Cost: $25/day or $40 for both days; $50 for overnight accommodations
Location: Dayton Metro Library Main Branch
Dates: Monday July 29 – Tuesday, July 30
Dan DeMatte is the co-founder and executive director of Damascus, one of the fastest-growing youth and young adult ministry movements in the country. He is an international catholic evangelist, bringing the Gospel to thousands of youth and adults each year.
Dan is the author of catholic bestseller, Holiness Revolution, with the Dynamic Catholic Institute. He recently released a new book called Dream Bigger! He is the co-host of Beyond Damascus, a podcast and radio program carried across the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network.
He lives in Ohio with his wife, Amber, and their four children.
10:00 – 10:15: Check In & Hospitality
10:15 – 10:45: Beacons of Light Update
10:45 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 12:00 Dan DeMatte Session 2
12:00 – 1:00: Lunch
1:00 – 2:30: Breakout Session 3
2:30 – 2:45: Break
2:45 – 4:15: Breakout Session 4
4:15 – 4:30: Closing Announcements and Prayer
10:00 – 10:15: Check In & Hospitality
10:15 – 10:25: Welcome & Introduction
10:25 – 10:45: Lectio Divina
10:45 – 11:00: Break
11:00 – 12:00: Keynote Speaker: Dan DeMatte
12:00 – 1:00: Lunch
1:00 – 2:30: Breakout Session 1
2:30 – 2:45: Break
2:45 – 4:15: Breakout Session 2
4:15 – 4:30: Closing Announcements & Prayer
Keynote 1: Kingdom Dreaming: Cultivating the Christian Imagination
Often dreamers get a bad reputation for ‘having their heads in the clouds’ but what if God gave us the imagination to see with the eyes of faith. This session will look at the power of the christian imagination infused with the Holy Spirit and that through the Spirit, we can dream God-sized dreams!
Keynote 2: Kingdom Dreaming: Cultivating the Imagination for Parish Ministry
What is God’s dream for your parish? What does He want to bring about? We need to replace our spirit of limitation with a spirit of expectation. God has desires for your parish ministry, and He wants to use you to bring these about!
Professional Skills for New Evangelists, Part 1 – Shane Legg & Audrey Melton
Learn how to navigate the ins-and-outs of everyday ministry life, including staying organized, handling paperwork, and Archdiocesan policies.
Tangible Steps to Make a Dream Reality – Dan DeMatte
Many people dream powerful dreams, but few know how to put those dreams into reality. This session will look at the tangible steps to start putting your God-sized dreams into action. You will leave this workshop ready to start mobilizing your dreams.
ARK: A Tool for Evangelization – Sean Ater & Rob Kenney
ARK is the first religious assessment that can be used a tool to help track growth in discipleship for each individual person from grades 2-12. Learn how to apply the results of the ARK assessment to help each young person on their individual faith journey.
Professional Skills for New Evangelists, Part 2 – Shane Legg & Meg Paul
Learn how to navigate all the relationships of everyday ministry life, including working with coworkers, priests, volunteers, and parishioners.
Sacraments for Persons with Disabilities – Chris Baumgardner & Lisa Averion
Come and find out how to best serve those who have disabilities in your Family of Parishes. This session will offer resources, practical suggestions, witnesses from ministers who have served creatively and effectively, a list of parish contacts who can mentor those who are seeking additional support, and time to brainstorm ideas with other parish evangelists.
Charisms: Burning Brightly without Burning Out – Nicholas Hardesty
There are many ways to avoid burnout. One of them is to minister from your spiritual giftedness. We’ll discuss what the charisms are, what they do for you and for others, and how they can help your ministry to radiate Christ instead of flaming out.
Cultivating a Compelling Church Culture – Dan DeMatte
A parish culture is the most influential aspect of a person’s experience with their parish. But how does a leader cultivate a compelling and inviting culture? This session teaches practical ways to name and build a strong parish culture.
Discerning God’s Plan Amidst Challenging Situations – Fr. Matthew Summe
Life is messy. Conflicts, misunderstandings and misaligned expectations are all part of life and ministry. Learning to find God’s way through these challenging situations and the skills for crucial conversations are essential to effective evangelization.
The Art of Small Talk – Katie Dell
Small talk is a vital skill for every evangelist. Learn how to be better at small talk, why it’s so important, and how to leverage small talk for evangelization.
Relationship, Identity, & Mission – Audrey Melton & Paco Patag
Living the Christian life driven by our relationship with Jesus, how this forms our personal identity, and how we carry out our mission in the world.
Family Evangelization: How to Launch & Grow – Sean Ater & Chris Baumgardner
Come and find out what whole family evangelization and catechesis might look like in your Family of Parishes and, more importantly, what it might not look like. We’ll discuss different approaches to a whole family catechetical approach and dream of possibilities with other ministers.
Adult Evangelization: Redirecting Parish Resources – Nicholas Hardesty & Shane Legg
How to make difficult decisions about the limited resources available to parish ministries and how to implement changes to mission, budget, and communication for adult evangelization.
If your Parish is interested in reserving the Our Lady of Fatima pilgrimage statue, contact Denise Austing dausting@catholicaoc.org
